Forsworn Love: Assassin
by Black Die
Summary: Duke, Mai, Noah, and Mokuba must release the sealed Originals-Bakura, Mariku, Seto, and Yami-but at what cost? And who's part of the myserious Council? CharDeath, slight Stepshipping. AU. Prologue to the series Forsworn Love.
1. Character List and Info

Die: I apologize for all the information upfront, but the actual story is behind it, and this is for your own benefit, I promise!

Ishizu: ... Black Die does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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><p>Individual Character Info:<p>

Anzu- witch, Earth Avatar; she is what binds Mai to guard the slumbering Originals.

Mai- cat demon, Earth elemental; she is the only Elemental who remains loyal to the Originals.

Mako- fish demon, Water elemental

Rex- reptile demon, Fire elemental; he's known to be sexually attracted to Mai, much to her disgust.

Weevil- insect demon, Air elemental

Duke- bird demon, Spirit elemental, first servant to Ichiru; his loyalty is to Ichiru first and the Originals second.

Ichiru- creator of the world, his first creation after the Tapestry of Destiny was Duke for want of a companion, followed by the four Originals—Bakura, Seto, Yami, and Mariku—who then created the four Elementals, who are honor-bound to serve Ichiru. One day he fell ill without reason and was put into an endless sleep where he is guarded by Duke; it is presumed he can be reawaken by the four Originals, though no one knows exactly how.

Bakura- one of the four Originals created by Ichiru and one of the first to fall to the machinations of the Council. His soul has been leaking out while he's incarcerated in an attempt to find his soulmate.

Seto- one of the four Originals created by Ichiru and the last to be sealed away by the Council along with Yami. A small piece of his soul broke off when he was sealed away, taken care of by Mokuba and Noah until it escaped them.

Yami- one of the four Originals created by Ichiru and the last to sealed away by the Council along with Seto. Part of his soul slipped from his bindings in search of help, instead finding his soulmate and pooling there.

Mariku- one of the four Originals created by Ichiru and one of the first to fall to the Council and be sealed away. His conscience and some of his sanity slipped from him and into the world, where it took up residence in a soul similar enough to his own, where it warped the individual into his soulmate.

The Council- a mysterious group who sealed away the four Originals Ichiru created and bound the four Elementals to protecting the incapacitated Originals and preventing their reawakening; it is believed to have seven members who rule in stead for the two Clones who were created by the Originals, Mokuba and Noah.

Mokuba- a Clone, one of the two immortals more powerful than the Council to be allowed to remain unhindered after Ichiru's sudden illness that gave the Council the courage to seal away the four Originals; he is mated to Noah, the other Clone, who helped him keep track of Seto's soul until it escaped.

Noah- a Clone, one of the two immortal creatures permitted to remain unbound following the Council's betrayal of the four Originals; he is mated to Mokuba, the other Clone, who also protected Seto's soul from the Council until it escaped from them.

Ishizu- a creature almost as ancient as Ichiru with an unknown origin. She holds the Millennium Necklace and can see the future.

Shadi- a creature who guards the Millennium Items. His exact origin is unknown, though he is nearly as ancient as Ichiru. He holds the Millennium Key, which allows him to enter another person's mind without permission to judge their hearts.

Ryou Hikari- vampire fledgling who was abandoned by his Sire upon his birth; according to Duke, the sole Elemental not bound by the Council in some fashion, he holds the other half of Bakura's leaking soul.

Malik Ishtar- Rare Hunter who has been feeding on Mariku's sanity and conscience for years, where it has interfered with his work killing immortal creatures since he was ten.

Joey Wheeler- werewolf, he intercepted the missing part of Seto's soul and has slightly integrated it into himself, making him rather volatile among his pack and quick to pick a fight.

Yugi Moto- human, he is the pool for Yami's missing parts of his soul, which makes it nigh impossible to defeat him at any game.

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><p>Other information (ie background):<p>

Ichiru- the first creature, created from the sole beginning thread of the Tapestry of Fate. He wove the remainder of the Tapestry, creating the world. Feeling lonely, he created Duke first, then the four Originals, who then created the first races, the Elementals, and the Clones. One day, he fell deathly ill, and to save his life, Duke put him into an endless sleep until he could recover with the assistance of the Originals. Many races regard him as a god and his faithful Duke as an angel, or occasionally a demon due to his black wings.

The Tapestry of Fate- the tapestry from which the world was created, woven by Ichiru, who was created by the first thread of this tapestry. Now embued with magic, as it has been since Duke's creation, it weaves itself and is said to determine the destiny of everyone and everything. The exact location is unknown to any save Ichiru and Duke, who has been harassed for centuries by the Council, who only concluded after extensive torture that he didn't remember where it was since he had only been there when he was first created. The source of its power comes from the Fountain of Immortality.

The Fountain of Immortality- a fountain whose water is said to make whosoever drinks it immortal if the user has the permission of Ichiru and those who do not merely enjoy dreams beyond their wildest imaginings and the benefits of wellness. The Tapestry of Fate is powered by it and sits inside of its spray as it weaves itself. Since Ichiru fell ill, the marble has turned dark and the water gives its drinkers nightmares. In fact, it was water from the Fountain that put Ichiru into his never-ending sleep for it seemed that even it could not cure his disease.

The Cathedral- a mysterious place of increased magical awareness that Duke calls home. Apparently, Ichiru's body hides within the structure, but it is impossible to find unless Ichiru himself will it. It is disguised as an innocent Gothic cathedral and occasionally opens to allow human visitors, albeit not for sermons despite the fact that it's technically a "Catholic church" even though it has never been used for that purpose.

The Millennium Items- items who were created before Ichiru; some say they even created the first thread from which Ichiru came. The Scale has been lost to time, along with the Eye, presumed to be in the possession of the Council, but the Necklace rests with Ishizu and the Key with Shadi. The Ring, Puzzle, and Rod were items belonging to Bakura, Yami, and Mariku respectively and have thus found their way through countless hands to end up in the hands of their soulmates time and again. The final items, the Ankh and the Anklet, have been destroyed. The Ankh belonged to Seto and was destroyed during the fight that ended in his and Yami's sealing, which also shattered the Puzzle, and the Anklet met its end in an unknown way, belonging to Ichiru. Its demise is perhaps a cause of his mysterious illness, though it is uncertain whether such a claim is true.

The Originals- the four creatures created by Ichiru after Duke. They were intended to be Ichiru's equals and made from four different aspects of his soul. They created the Clones and the Elementals. After Ichiru disappeared from the world, they were sealed away by the Council, who then bound the Elementals to guard them for eternity. Unbeknowst to the Council, each of them have part of their soul missing by this point in time. Like Ichiru, they were often regarded as gods. Bakura and Mariku were the first to be sealed, followed by Seto and Yami.

The Clones- the two creatures created by the Originals along with the Elementals. They were the only two immortals outside of the Council to remain unaffected by the takeover. Noah and Mokuba were perhaps the two people Seto was the most fond of and took care of a missing part of his soul for a while before it ran away from them. Officially, it is they who rule the Realms, but it's a well-known fact that the Council is in charge of things, not the two mates. They are often mistaken for minor gods or angels in disguise.

The Council- A mysterious group, presumably of seven people although the exact number is unknown, who became ambitious and sealed away the Originals and sent the Elementals to guard them. Their creation is unknown and generally attributed to the Tapestry of Fate.

The Elementals- The four demons who represent the four elements of the world. They were created by the Originals but were made to be loyal to Ichiru as well. Mai, the Earth Elemental, is the only one who remains to her original purpose, although she is restrained by the binding of the Earth Avatar Anzu. Duke technically falls under this category even though he was created by Ichiru and is the Elemental of Spirit. Mako the Water Elemental, Weevil the Air Elemental, and Rex the Fire Elemental all are loyal to the Council. They are often mistaken for demons or angels.

The Rare Hunters- a group of beings who hunt paranormal creatures. They have special abilities given to them by their special brand of magic. Malik is among their number.

Vampires- a group of "immortals" who drink blood to survive since they cannot produce their own. Their young are known as fledglings and are rather vociferous in their eating habits. A Sire can control its Childe, though it's not uncommon for a Sire to abandon a newborn Childe. Due to their enhanced senses, most prefer not to venture out in the daytime and dislike strong smells, hence many of the myths. They live much longer than normal humans, generally are richer, and cry blood-tears, but "good" vampires are completely immune to the mythical effects of holy objects. To create a vampire, a body must be drained of most of its blood and then have vampire blood injected into their veins or orally ingested.

Werewolves- a group of "immortals" who transform into a wolfman on the full moon, losing their sanity for the night and becoming a beast. Most deaths attributed to vampires occur then, although few Rare Hunters recognize the fact. Like the myths, werewolves generally prefer to travel in packs, although there are a good handful of loners, and can transform into a true wolf form in any time other than the full moon, although most are prompted by strong emotion. They are the most voraciously hunted by the vampires due to their savage attacks during the full moon, though it only takes a bite from a werewolf to turn, so the numbers are about equal.

Witch- the same as normal humans, only they can activate the dormant magic in their blood. Most vampires are witches as well and several witches, not all, are vampires. A werewolf isn't considered a witch since their magic is somewhat involuntary and limited only to shapeshifting to one other form.

Avatars- human witches who can channel the power of the Elementals. Binding an Avatar can give someone partial control of the corresponding Elemental, though any proper Elemental other than Mai will simply kill the Avatar in such a situation and Duke will take away their powers, his loyalty to Ichiru preventing him from abandoning his post even so many millennia after his master's sedation.

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><p>Shadi: Jagashemash! My name is Shadi and you gypsies are to review otherwise something very bad will happen!<p> 


	2. Prologue

Die: All right, this is NOT the entire story behind this, but for short, this is actually the PROLOGUE to the entire series I'm about to start, Forsworn Love! The reason it's posted seperately is because it actually has nothing to really do with the actual first two, which are Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek and Let's Kill Tonight.

Malik: Boring! Let's get to the good stuff!

Die: *pouts* Fine. This title is inspired by the song by the same name by Muse.

Ryou: Black Die does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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><p>Mai restrained a growl deep in her chest as she held back a shiver from the cold, her arms wrapping around her breast in a vain attempt to hold in what little warmth she could keep from the winter night, her light blonde tail flicking impatiently behind her. Instead, she let out a low hiss, hating the fact that she stuck out like a sore thumb in the human graveyard, not only because she was its sole occupant in this ancient section but also for wearing such strange clothing, a short purple skirt with a black inlaid belt and a similarly-colored sleeveless jacket over a white corselet that showed off her stomach and a pair of knee-high black heeled boots that almost came up high enough to disguise the bulky black leather sheath buckled around her left leg. She may have been <em>the<em> Earth Elemental rather than that cheap-ass Avatar they used to bind her to the Tomb, but that didn't mean she had to stand for such barbs to her pride as the very person who had asked her here to be two hours late to his own fucking meeting. Her ears flickered to the side at the sound of a pair of black shoes on the faded and crumbling cobblestone path and she turned to see the owner of said shoes, a male with long black hair held back from his handsome emerald eyes by a black-diamond-patterned red headband, a clingy black shirt underneath a red sleeveless shirt to give him a slight hint of modesty and a pendant vaguely reminiscent of a silver cross above a single blue wing, his upper arms containing a pair of golden bands each and a brazier; sitting low on his hips and held up by a black leather belt with a gold buckle was a pair of snug black jeans, the material making a slight swishing sound with every step, which also caused the slight movement of his sole dice earring in his left ear. "My apologies for being late," he offered her, his hands shoved inside his pants pockets. "A handful of witches were getting a little too curious about Ichiru's cenotaph."

She harrumphed, not really buying his excuse but having nothing else to go on. She knew well how Duke was infatuated with his dear master Ichiru, even if he hadn't been awake for millennia now. The two had been very close since Duke's birth, for when there were only two creatures on the earth, it wasn't a stretch to imagine them becoming close. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about, Duke? I should hope it would be doing something about those soul leaks the Originals have been having, they need to be fixed before they drain out and turn dangerous."

He sighed, his large raven wings shifting behind him as his shoulders rolled slightly. "Mai, this has to stop. The Originals… the world is suffering because they're contained, suffering because of _us_. We're the ones who can stop it, who can release them, and yet we just ignore their suffering, and for what? The Council gives us nothing, imprison Mokuba and Noah."

Her eyes narrowed shrewdly as she calculated their odds, her tail flicking. "We can't do anything, Duke. We're only two people. It takes all five of us Elementals to free them, and Mako would take me out in a matter of moments." Earth being weak to Water was just about the worst thing Mai could think of, especially since Mako was so cold and distant. There was no way he'd help them. "Face it, if we could have done it, it would have been done by now."

Duke smiled darkly, his eyes gleaming in the near darkness. "What if I told you it was prescribed in the Tapestry of Destiny?" he murmured softly, seductively. "What if I had seen our victory with my own eyes?"

"Prove it," she demanded huskily.

"I've felt them, Mai," he continued. "The four soulmates have returned. The Originals can be awakened and the Council overthrown."

She looked at him incredulously. "Do you think me stupid?" she hissed, her ears plastered to her head now with indignation. "The Originals' soulmates never appear at once, not since the Council sacrificed them to seal them away millennia ago!"

"Ishizu has foreseen their meetings with her necklace, Shadi judged their hearts with his Key." He waved a hand violently to the side in a point, gesturing to a headstone with a weeping angel without actually intending to. "And as if _that_ wasn't enough, they found the Items!"

Her eyes widened. "Impossible!" she breathed. "Shadi and Ishizu hid them where no one would ever be able to find them after the last massacre!"

Duke chuckled lowly. "Nothing is ever lost forever, Mai, surely you know this by now? And besides, it is their destiny to find it."

"The Items cannot fall into the Council's hands, Duke! I won't allow it!"

"Mai, please," he pleaded, but she cut him off, gesturing wildly.

"Duke, the Ring allows for nightmares to come to life, the Puzzle for the banishment of whatever it is the user chooses, the Rod the absolute control of a person's mind simply by a look! If the Council retrieved those, life as we know it, as bad as it is now, would simply go ever deeper into hell!"

"Mai-"

"I WON'T LET YOU BREAK THE ORIGINALS SIMPLY SO THAT YOU CAN INDULGE SOME SICK FANTASY OF WANTING TO BE WITH YOUR PRECIOUS ICHIRU AGAIN, DUKE!"

Silence enveloped the pair once more after her outburst, broken only by the sounds of a raccoon fishing through a dumpster a few blocks over, a car alarm from three streets down, and the drunken babble of a few stumbling teens high on their first dose of crack. He gave her an uneasy smile, though it looked the same as his normal one as he leaned against the marble doorway of the closed mausoleum, his fingers playing around the stone wing of an angel statue. "A little faith is all I'm asking here, Mai," he said after a long moment, not meeting her gaze, his wings slumped and folded loosely to his back, the feathers drooping. "You can allow me that much, right?"

She leaned forward, opening the crypt door, even if her arm shot out when he turned to follow her inside. "It's not you I trust, Duke," she informed him darkly, her tail thrashing agitatedly in the darkness. "I'm not doing it for you or out of the goodness of my heart. This is for the Originals, to redeem my failure from all that time ago."

"I can respect that," he replied softly. "Now, may I come in?"

A small hand closed around his wrist, yanking him back with strength unnatural for its size. "Don't think for one second you're gonna do this without us, Duke," a child's voice demanded rather cheerfully.

Duke's emerald eyes widened. "Noah, Mokuba," he breathed, "what are you doing here?"

"What does it look like we're doing?" Noah said, his voice rather serious as he pulled Mokuba close to him, resting his chin affectionately on the shorter boy's shoulder. "We're helping you rescue the others." Seeing Mai about to protest, he added, "Please, you know as well as I do that there's no real way you two are going to be able to take on _three _Elementals alone, especially with one of them being Mai's weakness."

Mokuba spoke next, shyly venturing his opinion out. "We want to help you two, if only to feel like we haven't failed everyone again." Noah made a soothing sound deep in his throat, hands rubbing along the black-haired boy's arms to stave off the tears he knew were coming. Mokuba held himself responsible for the Originals' sealing since it had been him who had seduced Noah when the soulmates had been taken, and though Noah assured him that it was just as much his fault as it was Mokuba's and that they would have been killed too if they had been there, the guilt remained very much present on his heart. "Besides, it's not as if we'll have to fight anyone if they show up. Short of the Council, we can defeat anything that comes our way, plus we can control the other Elementals anyway."

Duke and Noah's eyes met, the silent message passing between them in an instant _Protecting the one you love is our first priority, and if it's in my better interests to betray you for the sake of the one I love, I'll do it in a heartbeat_. "Let them come, Mai," the elder raven-haired male stated, his feathers ruffling behind him in slight irritation. "They'll just follow us regardless of what we tell them." She sighed but allowed them all to pass, her ears upright and twitching with every sight sound she could pick up over the sound of their echoing footsteps as they descended into the dank darkness of the crypt that held bodies deep within its inner bowels, both living and dead. The worn marble steps beneath them yielded no enemies, but the same could not be said of the torch-lit entryway.

Mako stepped out of the shadows, his eyes gleaming suspiciously at Mai, for Duke had sensed the Water Elemental coming and had held back the Clones from entering eyesight, pressing a solitary finger to his lips in warning. Betraying their position could spell disaster for both them and Mai. "What are you doing here, Mai? You know it's forbidden for us to venture outside of the cenotaph."

"And since when have you been one to listen to the rules, Mako?" she retorted spitefully, a flicker of her ears revealing her vulnerability in this very moment.

Catching this vision of weakness, Noah stepped under Duke's arm and used his powers of compulsion to weave a light trance over Mako, just enough to protect himself and the others from reacting negatively to the presence of a Clone and summon the Council. His blue eyes narrowed dangerously, forcing Mako forward in a stumble as he cried out slightly. "I had to," he explained to Mokuba's heartbroken face. "Mai was going to give us away and he would've destroyed us."

"I know," he sighed, "but I wish you hadn't enslaved him anyway. I don't like taking away a person's freewill."

Duke smirked, stepping into the circle granted by the torches now. "I guess it's a good thing I have no such problems then, hmm?" he purred, waving his hand as Rex stepped forward from the shadows, led with a vacant expression on his face. Mai glared at him and he shrugged unapologetically. "What? It's not as good as the Rod is, but it gets the job done, right?" Seeing their continued looks, he unfolded his wings to form a slight protective barrier as he took the lead. Mai slipped by him, her ears perked forward, and it was a single glance on her part that imparted her desire to shred her Avatar to pieces for daring to hold her captive.

"Come on, Mai," Noah called when they finally caught up with her, slyly angling his body to keep Mokuba from seeing the carnage that used to be the witch Anzu. "We have something more important to do than revenge."

She lapped the crimson from her lips, waving them along. "I'll be along in a moment, go on without me."

Duke raised an eyebrow. "Is that a cut on your arm?" he asked, pointing to the dark line across on her pale forearm. He knew that to awaken the Originals, a sacrifice had to be made, but it wasn't until that very moment that he realized he could just use blood instead of simply killing the other Elementals. "Put some of that blood on a knife or something, I can use it to unlock the others."

"Here," Mai said, throwing a knife towards him, handle down. "It's what the bitch stabbed me with." He caught it easily, pulling another pair from his boot and slashing Mako across the arm with one.

"Wait," Mokuba cried, running over when the older raven-haired boy turned towards Rex. "Let me bind him first so that you don't end up breaking the compulsion by accident."

"It's okay, Mokuba," Noah ventured, a slight shadow of doubt hiding deep in his eyes in a place that he made sure none of them could have seen. "I can handle two minds at once."

The youngest boy shook his head, smiling softly at his lover. "Please, Noah, let me handle things for a change." The two stared at each other for a long moment before the green-haired boy shrugged, letting his lover stand before the captured Elemental with eyes closed as he concentrated as hard as he could.

Finally, when he thought the younger boy had enough control over Rex, Duke stabbed the Elemental in the side and added the bloody knife to the two in his other hand. "A shame," he muttered to himself, his head cocking to the side for a moment. "I'd rather hoped you'd come quietly, Weevil," he finished, a sudden movement of his hand casting a barb of pure energy upwards and pulling down a squirming boy with a single gossamer wing impaled upon it.

"Over Zorc's dead body!" he snarled, the darkness collecting around him. Recognizing that he was summoning the demon king, which would no doubt alert the Council, Mai howled out a battle cry, leaping onto the insect Elemental, fighting as fiercely as she could even as Mokuba and Noah worked desperately to push back Zorc. Closing his free hand over the blue-black liquid in his palm, Duke descended deeper into the tomb, wiping his fluid-covered hand on the stone ankh barrier and then flicking the daggers at it in order to get some innards over it and break the seal. Even so, he knew the ankh would require a cost greater than that, so he turned the spell on the slumbering Originals, willing to sacrifice their memories to create the illusion of their presence for the sake of his dear Ichiru. Sending the newly-released Bakura and Mariku away with a wave of his hand, he used his large wings to hide himself in the shadows between Seto and Yami's coffins. It would not do for him to fall victim to the Council, not when the Cathedral's fate resting on his shoulders.

Mokuba cringed as his back pressed into the cold stone wall, looking up through his bangs to see Noah's back in front of him as his mate stood between him and the seven approaching cloaked figures. Mai and Weevil had already disappeared, the male Elemental no doubt taken by Zorc in punishment for summoning him and the female to one of her usual haunts, leaving just the pair behind; Duke's energy had long since disappeared. "As punishment for your crimes, Mokuba and Noah," a voice intoned, a light tenor that almost seemed to float over the air without a care in the world, "you two shall be turned into statues to serve as a warning to the others." Mokuba whimpered, pressing closer to Noah, but his vision soon grayed out as his lover pressed him closer and he knew no more.

Once Duke was certain the Council was gone, he strode back up the stairs and towards the two younger boys. He tsked at the stone, tapping in with a knuckle before he wrapped his wings around the three of them, feathers enfolding and trapping the darkness within their folds. When they opened a moment later, it was to the stunningly well-lit entryway of an ancient stone cathedral, the fountain before them happily gurgling water down its marble steps. It would not be able to entirely undo the effects of the spell from the two Clones, not until Ichiru reawakened, but with what limited magic it could perform here, where the trees literally whispered through the windows and the sins of all fell from aching shoulders, Duke knew they would be fine. Noah and Mokuba would be fine in the end, and better yet, he could already see within its spray the young white-haired boy and tanned blond Egyptian who were to be the first to feel the touch of today's events.

Everything had gone according to plan. Somewhere deep within the cathedral, a mist-haired boy with multi-colored tips shifted in his bed, his hair falling over his face as he readjusted himself slightly and slumbered on. It was the first time he had moved in millennia. And underneath the trickling fountain, a loom finished its depiction of a pair of lovers intertwined as they turned to stone and then started the first one it had depicted in a good long while without something having happened to prompt it. The image showed a vampire, his fangs out as he gazed at the boy holding him innocently in his arms, his back pressed to that of a hunter who held his stake to the elder creature who stood before him as a single tear trickled down their cheeks. It had begun.

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><p>Die: All right, it might be a while until I can get the next part out, especially since I'll be juggling multiple story lines, but in the meantime, please review and tell me what you think!<p>

Bakura: I think it was crap.

Mariku: Seconded.

Die: NOBODY ASKED YOU! *sticks tongue out at them* Reviews will get you a hug from Mariku!

Mariku: I like hugs...


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